Germany: The Managerial State

1. Germany: The Managerial State

2. The managerial state is the product of capitalism. It coincides with the sociocultural evolutionist theory of a “post-industrial society”. It also connects with the international relations theory of “world-systems approach.” In the managerial state, the old capitalist class, which dominates the power elite, is replaced by the managerial class, which includes business executives, bureaucrats, professionals, and intellectuals. What Is The Managerial State? • A paleoconservative theory used to describe modern social democracy in the Western countries. • The theory states that there is an elitist regime that holds power regardless of what political party is elected. • Samuel Francis states that the managerial state “acts in the name of abstract goals, such as equality or positive rights, and uses its claim of moral superiority, power of taxation and wealth redistribution to keep itself in power.”

3. Post-Industrial Society The economic transition from a manufacturing based economy to a service and information based economy. The takeover of power by the technocracy(mangerialism) and pragmatism over ethics and ideology. Changes in the dominating class, with highly educated specialist and scientist overtaking the traditional bourgeois class of capitalist. Understanding World-Systems Approach and Post Industrial Society • World-Systems Approach • A post-marxian view of world affairs first introduced by social historian Immanuel Wallerstein. • Wallerstein states that there is a world-system that redistributes resources from the periphery to the core. The periphery is the underdeveloped part of the world, and the core is the industrialized and modern part of the world. • Resources are not limited to natural resources, they also include labor.

4. The Thinkers of Managerialism • James Burnham- Former communist intellectual and activist. Author of The Managerial Revolution and The Machiavellians. He heavily influenced George Orwell's 1984. He is the father of managerialist thoery. • Samuel Francis – An anticapitalist, paleoconservative author who is more known for his racial outbursts. He was influenced by Burham, who he wrote two books about. He has written numerous essays and books concerning the managerilist state. Francis stated “We refuse to control real criminals (that's the anarchy) so we control the innocent (that's the tyranny).” • Paul Gottfried – A professor of humanities at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania He is a critic of the neoconservatives within the conservative movement and the Republican party. He is a paleoconservative and writes numerous books on managerialism and also columns concerning the decline of academic freedom.

5. Other Thinkers of Relevant Theory • Imannuel Wallerstein – A historical sociologist and founder of world-systems analysis. He is a researcher at Yale sociology department. His dependency theory illuminated moder international relations, and his post-Marxian world-systems approach has been taken up by numerous sociologist. • Daniel Bell – Bell is a professor emeritus of sociology at Harvard university. In 1974 he published The Coming of the Post-Industrial Society. He said that the service sector would dominate the industrial sector in the coming years. Information technology would become a primary economic market in post-industrial states. He elaborated on the technical (managerial) class would take the power from the traditional capitalist class. • George Ritzer – A professor at the University of Maryland. He is a self-taught sociologist. He is most famous for his work, The McDonaldization of Society. He developed six changes in society in it's transition to post-industrial society. Of these, practical know-how is replaced by theoretical knowledge. He states that the role of scientists will become increasing important at this next stage.

6. The New Power Elite • Burnham said that the salary managers and executives would replace the stock holders, or owners of the means of production, as the power-based decision making class. This obvious as today that is true in any major corporation in Germany, and around the world. • He then went on to say that the elected officials would be displaced by the bureaucrats of various government agencies. In many Western governments, the government is the biggest employer. The United States is the biggest in the world, and the German government doesn't fall all that short on the list. With the welfare state comes larger government, more administration, more bureaucracy. Technical roles must be filled for the various administrative roles, this is where the new class arises. • The German government has 14 ministries and employees those with the technical skills for each ministry.

7. As stated by Samuel Francis, “Because managers in the economy and government depend on their mastery of technical skills in production and administration, and because modern technological society depends on such skills, the formal rights of of property and ownership in the economy and institutions becomes obsolete, and and these masters of management and technical skills acquire power.” • In everyday terms this means that those without a self-interest to property and instituions make the decisions instead of those that own the instrument. • They hold there power, even during regime changes. Employees of the administration often spend their career in government service. They are not elected and remain in their positions do to their involvment in governemnt unions. • They continue to formulate the plans and policies for the next regime, influencing the very thought of elected officials. The German government always looks to policy thinkers, as they do not have the technical skill of that particular problem. For this they look at their ministries as well as educators, researchers, and managers...the managerial class.

8. The business executives and salried managers now hold the power in the economy, and lead the way into a global lobbying empire. Citigroup for example, has lobbiest in almost every country in the world. This brings together Managerialism and World-system analysis. The core, Citigroup, Deutsche Telekom, etc, use their influence by the ways of money, to persuade the governments of various countries, to see things “their way.” • This usually includes, in some way, a transfer of wealth from the 3rd world to more post—industrial societies such as Germany, United States, France, etc. This wealth can be in money, by contracts, and cheap labor. It is the managerial class that pursues this transfer of wealth and they are located in every core city in the world. ie. Frankfurt, New York, Geneva. • An interesting historical fact of managerialism is that it can be formed in three different ways as stated by Burnham. The first is the USSR, whos whole society was never for the workers, but for the managerial class, otherwise known as politburu who was the bureaucracy of the USSR. The second was the United States, “New Deal Era,” which expanded the government and regulated with bias. The third was Nazi Germany. Burnham saw Hitler's system as a possible future of the managerial class. He actually thought the world would be divided into three main powers, the USSR, the United States, and Nazi Germany.

9. How I See It • If you have ever had the chance to read “1984” then that is how the managerial system would turn to be. A whole society ran by those who think they know whats best and all in conspiracy with eachother. • However, I don't fully believe in this theory. I can come up with an endless list of facts to disprove everything I just stated. I don't believe in an endless class struggle for power. I do think it is relevant to take into consideration, but there are those who due pursue power for principals and not just self-interest. There is also various philosophical arguments I would love to point out but don't have the time to do. • I will always hold the stance that society is in evolution, this is just one step of it. • So you may ask, why did I decide to do this? The purpose of this project was for two reasons. First, I do think much of this theory should recognized. There has been a take over by the technical(managerial) class in various institutions, specifically the academic, including this very college. Second, I wanted to express the need for looking at a subject through many different perspectives and approached, which is very much the opposite of the managerial class.

10. In education, among other institutions and the economy, we are now relentless on classifying and specializing. In the social sciences, for example, it is no longer a question of going to graduate school for political science, sociology, or history. Now it is the question of specializing in one of the ridiculous sub studies of the subject. We now have degrees for global studies, peace and justice, etc. The problem is that we can never have a whole view of any particular subject. Even when you specialize in global studies, you will have no strong view on it because you have not studied peace and justice. You won't have the chance to take all the different perspectives to analyze the subject. • I truly believe that there is harm in that respect. I know when I study any political subject I am using knowledge from all realms, from economics and sociology to mathematics and astronomy. It is important that we all look at subjects from different perspectives, and that was the very purpose of this project. To look at Germany, and the world, through a different perspective.

11. Sources: • Francis, Samuel. “Managerial Revolution.” American Conservatism. 2006 ed • Zmirak, John. “Francis, Samuel.” American Conservatism. 2006 ed • Burnham, James. The Managerial Revolution. New York: John Day. 1941 • Wallerstein, Immanuel. World-Systems Analysis. Durnham and London. 2004 • Frohnen, Bruce. American Conservatism. An Encyclopedia. Delaware: ISI Books. 2006